5 Ways to Help End Hunger for $1 or Less

Updated on January 4, 2009

How to Help the Hungry

Every day, more than 850 million people around the world go hungry and nearly 16,000 children die from hunger and related causes. Here are five simple ways that you can make a difference and help the hungry.

1. Visit The Hunger Site

Cost: Free

Since 1999, The Hunger Site, the original click-to-donate site has donated nearly 62 million pounds of food for the hungry, thanks to its web visitors. Conations are paid for by advertisers, so all you have to do is visit every day and click.

2. Practice Your Vocabulary at FreeRice

Cost: Free

Started in October 2007, FreeRice.com is a word game that challenges you to pick one of four synonyms for words that get increasingly more difficult. For each word you get right, the site donates the equivalent of 10 grains of rice. Like The Hunger Site, FreeRice.com is able to make the donations due to advertising revenue, so the cost to you is completely free.

3. Make Free Click Donations at FightHunger.org

Cost: Free

FightHunger.org is a UN-sponsored site similar to The Hunger Site, as it allows you to make free click donations. But the layout of the site doesn't make it quite as obvious. When you get to the homepage, look in the upper right-hand corner and click the orange button that says "Click to Feed a Child." Your click will generate an advertiser-sponsored donation that will provide one meal for a needy child. As of November 2007, the site had generated enough clicks to provide meals for over 1.3 million children.

4. Send a Letter to Congress

Cost: Free by email or 42 cents by mail

The United States has pledged to donate .7 percent of our annual income to help end world hunger, but unlike some of the 22 countries who have made this pledge, the US has yet to reach the goal or set a timeline for reaching it. You can help feed the hungry by sending a letter to your Congressional representative and asking him or her to honor our commitment. Learn more and find a sample letter at Poverty.com.

5. Create a Web Page About Your Favorite Topic

Cost: free

What's your passion? Knitting? Car racing? Listening to music? Create a page about any topic at Squidoo and you can donate some or all of your profits to a charity of your choice, including those fighting hunger, such as Action Against Hunger and Heifer International. It's easy, fun, doesn't require any knowledge of HTML, and can turn your hobby into food for the hungry.

More Hunger Links

UN World Food ProgrammeNews and updates on the UN's efforts to end world hunger, with statistics, publications and donations

Freedom from HungerNonprofit organization that works to create sustainable solutions to world hunger

Tina Fey on World Hunger

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